Night Owls (Night Owls, #1) in Adventures in SciFi Publishing

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Aug 26, 2013 Gary rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, urban-fantasy, viableparadise, written-by-a-friend

Full disclosure: I know the author, Lauren Roy. She and I attended the same writers workshop in 2012. That had a lot to do with getting the book in my hands. It, however, had nothing at all to do with either my rating or this review.

Note: There are some very mild spoilers. I didn't flag the whole review "Spoilerific" because these are spoilers you'll encounter in the first few chapters.

For a debut novel, this is very strong. One of the better ones I've come across. The premise is simple: Night O Full disclosure: I know the author, Lauren Roy. She and I attended the same writers workshop in 2012. That had a lot to do with getting the book in my hands. It, however, had nothing at all to do with either my rating or this review.

Note: There are some very mild spoilers. I didn't flag the whole review "Spoilerific" because these are spoilers you'll encounter in the first few chapters.

For a debut novel, this is very strong. One of the better ones I've come across. The premise is simple: Night Owls is a book store in a college town where students hang out until the wee hours. The owner, Val, happens to be a vampire. Not a very old one, but old enough. She's been through a lot, and came to this small town to get away from all the big, hairy problems. To live peacefully, selling books, collecting rare books, and going about her unlife.

Until circumstances land those big, hairy problems right in her lap. A rare book with dangerous magic in it arrives at the bookstore in the wake of its owner's murder by Jackals, which are kind of like a cross between a vampire and a werewolf, but not as cuddly. Vampires and Jackals hate one another. More like loathe. And in Val's old life, she used to hunt Jackals down and kill them. Now, they want that book. Val's fine with giving it to them, if it will get them to leave her alone.

The problems start when one of her young employees accidentally reads the book . . . and the magic enters him instead of remaining in the book. The Jackals now want the young man, and will stop at nothing to get it.

Note: those aren't very big spoilers. Those are, like, chapter 3 spoilers at best.

I enjoyed the book thoroughly. It has good, believable, sympathetic characters who have strengths and weaknesses, and lives that don't seem to have just begun on page 1. The magic is believable and neither over- nor under-powered. The vampire lore is different to an extent that we only brush lightly in this first book. And the Jackals are, as far as I know, Lauren Roy's own invention. The world feels richer than is shown in this novel, and it's clear that there's more going on than is told in these pages.

The pacing is wonderful. The book is filled with action, but not so relentless that I felt out of breath. Nor are there lulls during which I was tempted to flip forward to find out when it was going to get moving again. In other words, just right.

A larger story is hinted at, tantalizingly, in this first novel, and there are definitely sequels coming. And I will eagerly pick them up. As I said, I bought the book because it was by a friend. I read the book because it was enjoyable. And I'm rating and reviewing the book because I think you will like it, too, if you like urban fantasy, vampires, shape-changers, magic, action, adventure, dark secrets, and a good dose of humor. ...more

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Feb 15, 2016 Philip marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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